HENDERSON, Donald James (Jim)

 August 7, 1940 - May 2, 2020 Jim passed away peacefully on May 2, 2020 at the age of 79 after a long struggle with complications due to Parkinson's disease, and then COVID-19. He is survived by his wife Karen (Santolini), his children James, Chris, and Kevin, his grand-daughter Iris, his sister Carol (Beattie), and nieces and nephews Bob Beattie, Jane King, and Ann Patton, and Bill, Sandy and Tracey Henderson. Jim had a lifelong interest in public and current affairs, and was elected as the Member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Humber (renamed Etobicoke – Humber), for three terms, ranging from 1985 to 1995. He served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Ministers of Community and Social Services, Colleges and Universities, and for the Provinces' Anti-Drug Strategy, and then as the Official Opposition Critic for Culture and Communications. Jim was a medical doctor, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst. He served as the Directors of Psychiatry at the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital and the Royal Victoria Hospital. He was also a Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and Psychiatrist in Chief at the University of Toronto Student Health Services. Jim developed a special interest in developing countries in the Caribbean, including organizing and leading trade and medical delegations. He subsequently became fluent in Spanish, and was a guest lecturer at the University of Havana, where he assisted in the re-introduction of the study and practice of psychoanalysis in Cuba. He was educated at the University of Toronto Schools, and the University of Western Ontario. He pursued post-graduate training at Johns Hopkins University, where he obtained a Master's degree in Public Health. As a psychiatrist, his specific focuses were in parenting, children, and community care, including practicing in remote aboriginal communities. These areas of interest were the subject of numerous addresses, media presentations, educational seminars, and more than twenty-five academic publications. He had a love of the wilderness and outdoors, serving for many years in his teens and twenties as an out-trip canoe guide. A celebration of his life will be held a later date due to physical distancing requirements imposed during the present COVID-19 state of emergency. Further information and an opportunity to share condolences is available at www.etouch.ca. In lieu of flowers, donations to Parkinson Canada would be appreciated.
 
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